Action Plan More funds

Education, along with health, received only about 60% of the planned allocation in the 11th Five-Year Plan as against an overall realisation of 87%. The preparatory work done during the 11th Plan has led to improvement in absorptive capacities, and these sectors are ready for significant increases in allocations. It is estimated that the GBS allocated to these two sectors, including skill development initiatives, will need to be increased by at least 1.2 percentage point of GDP Creating jobs Growth of manufacturing in the 11th Plan is likely to be only 8%. It needs to be raised to 11-12% per year in the 12th Five-Year Plan to create jobs for a growing labour force. This is urgent since agriculture will no longer absorb more workers, and may indeed release some of the existing workforce. The manufacturing sector is likely to create around three to four million jobs over and above the pace of job creation in the recent past

THE INVESTMENT

• made in higher education in the 1950s and 1960s has contributed significantly to economic development, social progress, and political democracy in independent India

• At the time of independence, the number of universities was no more than 20, colleges around 500 and the total enrolment was less than 1.0 lakh

• By the end of the 10th Five-Year Plan, the Indian higher education system has grown into one of the largest in the world with 378 universities, 18,064 colleges, a faculty strength of 4.92 lakh, and an estimated enrolment of 140 lakh students

• Despite the expansion, it is evident that the system is under stress to provide a sufficient volume of skilled human power, which is equipped with the required knowledge and technical skills to cater to the demands of the economy

• Unlike the developed countries, where the young working population is fast shrinking, India has a demographic advantage with about 70% of the population below the age of 35 years
Source: 11th Five-Year Plan Source: Issues for the Approach to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-2017) by Planning Commission